The Five Days of Christmas
by E.A. Cooper
Summary: Five short stories all revolving around Gabriel, Elle, and little Noah's family.
1. Chapter 1

**Angela, Noah, Elle**

**The Petrelli Dining Room**

Every year, Primatech had a Christmas party. It had been a tradition since the start of the company. Because Bob's house was nonexistent, the party was held at the Petrelli's. All of Primatech's employees and their families were invited.

Although Bob was dead, this was one tradition that wasn't going to be broken. Noah Bennet made sure of that.

As usual, he and Elle arrived at the Petrelli house long before the party was supposed to start. Noah cooked the main course –turkey – and Elle baked peach pies. Angela hung decorations throughout the house.

"Angie?" Elle questioned, walking into the dining room.

"Ellephant?"

"Gabriel's coming, right? Because I made an extra peach pie, just for him. And vegetarian ziti, because he's a vegetarian. And I want my baby daddy here. And-"

"If I tell you that's he's coming, will you leave me alone?"

"Probably not. But maybe. I don't know."

Angie rolled her eyes and held up a candy cane.

"Here, enjoy."

The pregnant twenty-four year old squealed with delight and stuck the thing in her mouth. When Angela left the room, she unceremoniously plopped herself on the table, resting her feet on a nearby chair. It was hard being that cute all the time.

"Elle?"

"Ooh! Hi Petey! How are you today? Would you like to be zapped? I bet you would."

"Elle. You and Gabriel discussed this last time, remember? You get high off of candy canes. I won't tell him about this, because I'm a good person, but no more, okay?"

"Sure Petey!"

Elle was enjoying herself, and it wasn't even four o'clock yet.

"Ma?" a mind-numbing voice called. It was followed by Nathan.

"Ugh, who let the deadbeat in?" he asked, shooting disgusted glances at Nathan and the ice queen, Tracy… something-or-another, to whom Elle had yet to say one word. Oh, but that would change.

"Hi, Trace! Can I call you that? Tracy is kinda long for little ole pregnant me to say. Trace is more exciting."

Tracy gave her a look.

"It's the candy canes. They're her heroine."

The ice queen nodded and began to drag Nathan away.

"Trace? Where ya going? I wanna go too!" Oh, how Elle loved these gatherings.

"No, no, that's okay. Um, I need to… go that way." Trace pointed in the general direction of the makeshift dance floor.

"Shit, that reminds me. Petey?" Elle blinked rapidly.

"What?"

"Wanna help me down so I can go set up the dance room?"

Peter rolled his eyes - Elle hadn't even been pregnant for a month, she needed no help – and took a step back. She pouted, but got down by herself.

**Elle, Claire, Sandra, Gabriel**

**The Petrelli Entranceway**

Candy cane in hand, Elle made her way to the living room. Before she could go in, however, the door opened yet again. This time, it was Gabriel. He was followed by Claire Bear and her mother, but Elle paid them no mind.

"Ooh! Gaby-Baby!" Elle squealed, rushing to him. She knocked Claire over in her haste. "I missed you!" She kissed him lightly, leaving a hint of peppermint on his mouth. He pulled back quickly.

"Elle, who gave you that candy cane?" He asked.

"Angie. But don't be mad at her. I think you should be mad at Petey."

"Why should I be mad at Peter?"

"He wouldn't help me and the baby down."

Gabriel sighed.

"What about the pie?" He whispered, low enough so only she could hear.

Elle looked at him, dumbfounded.

"Alright, no pie," Gabriel said, hint taken.

"Good. Go get him. I'll take care of the cheerleader" Elle whispered.

Gabriel walked to over to Peter, and out of Elle's range of hearing.

Meanwhile, Elle walked to the cheerleader. She was staring at her uncle, Petey, and drooling.

"Kid. You've got a little something. Right here," Elle said, pointing to a spot on her face.

Claire mimicked Elle's motion on her own face. "Right here?"

"No, here," Elle said, pointing to a different spot.

**Petey, Gaby-Baby, Trace, and the Deadbeat… I mean, Nathan.**

**Somewhere in the Petrelli house…**

Gabriel walked calmly into the room, spotting Peter sitting at the table. He punched him square in the face.

"Next time, please help my pregnant wife out of her chair. Thank you."

Petey stood and tried to hit Gabriel. He missed by a foot.

Maturely, Gabriel stuck his tongue out at Peter. Simultaneously, they exclaimed "Starring contest" and sat in the middle of the floor, doing nothing but starring at one another.

Finally, the Petrelli matriarch and Noah exited the kitchen. Noah's "Kiss the Cook" apron starred at Nathan until he couldn't take it. He wound up sitting on the floor, much like his brothers, save for a thumb in his mouth.

"Elle, Gabriel. I've heard some ruckus out here. Are you behaving?" Angie asked. The accused shook their heads vigorously. The rest said no.

"I think you need to leave." Defeated, they made their way to the front door. At the same time, they turned back, eyes pleading. Claire tore her eyes away from her uncle long enough to close the door behind the Grays.

"Thank god," Tracy breathed.

**Elle and Gabriel**

**Outside the Petrelli house.**

"Maybe now they'll never invite us again!" Elle said excitedly. She hated these company/Petrelli family parties.

"If we're lucky," Gabriel added, swinging an arm around her waist.

"I liked that starring contest. It made me want to laugh."

"I liked that you were drunk off of candy canes. I really hoped Angela has her house bugged, so I can get a hold of some videos. Can someone say Youtube?" Gabriel countered.

"Funny," Elle commented dryly. "C'mon, let's get home." Elle and Gabriel huddled close together, snow gently falling in their faces.

"I'd like nothing more," Gabriel said with a smile.

He'd forgotten his pie entirely.

**The Petrelli kitchen**

A peach pie sat untouched on the kitchen counter. If you looked closely enough, the slits in the top looked like a frown.

"Shoot," the pie muttered. The noise, of course, came form its nonexistent mouth.

"Gabriel didn't eat me. He forgot all about me!" It whined.

Suddenly, Nathan burst in the kitchen.

"Tracy? I don't like this hiding spot! I can't find you this time! Ooh! Is that pie?" He said, looking directly at Henry the pie.

Henry wished desperately to be anything but pie to no avail. His last thought was, "I wish you were anyone else. Even that dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, Adam. Why can't you be Gabriel?" A tear slipped out of its eye.

"Ma!" Nathan called. "This pie is really juicy! It's almost watery! I love it!"


	2. Chapter 2

Elle stood still for a few moments, taking deep breaths.

"_In, out. In, out,"_ she reminded herself. This was one of the hardest things she was ever going to have to do.

And she was one her own. No partner, no "one of us, one of them" rule, no watchmaker/serial killer at her side. No one.

Taking one final deep breath, she flung herself into the abyss…

If you'd call the baby section of a store an abyss.

The desired item was in the middle of the aisle. Elle mentally prepared herself and pushed ahead.

Wearily, our warrior trudged through the massive amount of baby clothes without picking up a single thing. She was rather proud of herself, but knew that it was an easy first obstacle. Besides, she didn't want her baby's clothes to come from a grocery store.

Next to come was the formula section. She and Gabriel were already well-stocked with extra formula, just in case they had to go on the run. So, there was no problem there.

Finally, the soldier came to hardest part of her journey – toys. Elle took yet another deep breath, and pushed her cart through. Colors called to her from all angles. The noise surrounded her. It was a full-on ambush. But the trooper was well-trained. She had, after all, been raised a company girl.

At long last, Elle made it to the diaper section. This was a war in itself.

However well-prepared she may have previously been, Elle was not prepared for this. There seemed to be thousands of different types of diapers. The agent's company mind told her that this was all a plot from the opposing team. They were trying to drive her insane. (As if Gabriel wasn't enough…)

Elle the Brave reached for the first package and began her search. She read for what felt like hours, though, in reality, it was just thirty minutes. However, when she was done, every package had been read twice, thoroughly.

She was confused.

There were all sorts of different brands, sizes, smoothness, leak protection, everything. It was almost overwhelming. In a hurry, Elle grabbed the newborn Huggies and fled to the cash register.

The woman who checked her out tried ton talk to Elle, but Elle couldn't pay attention.

When Elle got back to the tiny apartment she and Gabriel shared, she ran to the baby's room to put the diapers away. She turned and saw Gabriel standing in the doorway.

"Hey," she said.

He smiled. "Hey".

"I bought diapers today. Did you know that there are like, a thousand different kinds of diapers," Elle asked, tidying up the little room.

Gabriel chuckled. "No, I didn't."

"I went for what looked best for a newborn," she continued.

Gabriel walked over to her and rested her chin on her shoulder, his hands on her protruding stomach.

"The store was crowded, of course, because of Christmas. Oh, did you get the turkey in the oven?" Elle asked.

"Taken care of," he smiled.

"Good, thank you." The couple made their way out of the room.

"Elle," Gabriel whispered. "Look up."

Hanging above them was a spring of mistletoe. Elle smiled devilishly.

"Merry Christmas," she said, then she kissed him with everything she had.

Gabriel pulled away when he realized that he was standing in a puddle of water.

Five hours later, at 12:05 on Christmas morning, Noah Gray came into the world. He weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces and was 18 inches long. And his parents couldn't have been more in love with him…


	3. Chapter 3

"Momma," Noah Gray said, pulling on his mother's pant leg. "Can we watch a movie?"

Elle looked from her dirty dishes to the clock on the microwave.

"It's getting late, baby. You have to go to bed soon," she said, running a dry hand through his light hair.

"Please?" He begged.

Elle smiled. "Go ask Daddy."

"Okay." Noah scampered away.

Elle didn't need to hear Noah's delighted giggle to know that Gabriel said yes. He always did. Sometimes, Elle wondered how Gabriel and Sylar could have ever been the same person. But, with one look at her son, she understood. Noah had saved both Gabriel and Elle. They would give their boy anything he wanted if it meant he was happy. So, they always gave in.

The dishes dried and put away, Elle leaned against the cool, blue marble of the counter. She and Gabriel were lucky; extremely lucky. This home, where Noah had spent his entire life, wasn't theirs. Looking back on how she and Gabriel had the acquired the house, she felt awful…

"_Mother, please," Gabriel pleaded. After faking their deaths, Elle and Gabriel had run to Angela for help._

"_There is nothing I can do, Gabriel," Angela said, face as stone cold as ever._

"_C'mon, Gabriel. She's obviously not going to help us." Elle tried to usher Gabriel out of the room; out of Primatech._

"_Elle's pregnant."_

_Angela sighed, then rolled her eyes._

"_There's a place in Costa Verde," she continued. "You're both pretty familiar with it. You can stay there for a while." Angela sat in her desk chair. The thought, "That's my father's," crossed Elle's mind, but she didn't say anything._

"_Thank you…"_

That house ended up being the very home where they had just tried to murder Noah and his family. As it turned out, the Bennets' house was in Angela's name, and she had the right to give ownership to whomever she chose. Which meant she could kick someone out when she wanted.

Elle shook her head. It was getting close to Christmas, and she didn't want to think about that type of thing. She grabbed a bag of popcorn, popped it and made her way to the living room.

"What are we going to watch, Noah?"

"Rudolph. That's my favorite," Noah replied, holding the disc up.

"Mine too," she said, ruffling his hair. Elle plopped down in her husband's lap.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hey," Gabriel whispered back, wrapping his arms around her small form.

Noah put the movie in the DVD player, then climbed up on the couch with his parents. He squeezed himself in the tiny space between his mother and father.

"We're so lucky," Elle whispered, once again stroking Noah's hair. She loved the soft texture of it.

"We are," Gabriel agreed. His hand drifted to her slightly bulged stomach. It made Elle smile.

She hugged her son closer to her and swung an arm around her husband. She was home, and there was no place she would rather be.


	4. Chapter 4

"Elle, where are the Christmas decorations?" Gabriel asked from the living room.

"Did you try the closet in the hallway?" Elle called from Noah's upstairs bedroom. He and his sister, Ava, were spending the day with Uncle Peter. They went to the mall so Noah could pick out presents for his parents.

"Which one?" Gabriel asked, dropping the tree on the living room floor. They definitely hadn't thought this one through.

"Upstairs," Elle shouted back. She stifled a giggle; it was fun giving him the harder job.

Gabriel mumbled under his breath, but walked up the stairs to check the closet. "It's not here," he called.

"Okay, try downstairs."

"I already did."

"Look harder," Elle said. Gabriel could never find anything.

Gabriel grumbled a little louder, but did as told. The box, of course, was in the very back corner of the closet. It was surrounded by what were definitely the biggest boxes in the entire house, basement included, and had brightly decorated Christmas presents on top of it.

Gabriel smiled. One morning, when Noah woke up before he did, the boy must have done some snooping. He found his Christmas and birthday presents – in the cabinet behind the bookshelf – and had begun to tear into them. Thankfully, Gabriel rescued the presents before Noah could tell what they were. Noah got off with a warning and a strict "Don't tell your mother". Gabriel knew it would crush Elle's heart to have her family's Christmas morning ruined.

"Found it," Gabriel shouted back to his wife.

Elle smiled. Noah's bedroom was now perfectly neat. It wouldn't stay that way for very long but, for today, it was something she didn't have to worry about. She moved on to the bathroom and began to scrub the grime off the mirror. "Told you so," Elle laughed.

"Shut up," Gabriel grinned. He got the box out of the closet – telekinetically, of course- and tore it open. He put the tree's base in the corner in the living room and plopped the tree into it. "Come look," he called.

Elle dropped was she was doing and went to her husband. "See? Aren't you glad you went through all that work?" she joked. Gabriel had gone down the street, picked a tree and dragged it back to house. Meanwhile, Elle had cleaned the kitchen, the living room – which would now have to be cleaned again – the front hallway, the downstairs bathroom, and Gabriel's office.

Gabriel ignored her. "Do you want to start decorating it?"

Elle's face fell. "You're gonna leave it there?"

"Well, I was planning on it, yeah."

"Oh," Elle said, turning away.

Gabriel sighed. "Where do you want me to put it?"

Elle turned back, happy again. "Move it to the right. Just a little."

Gabriel, being a good husband, obliged.

"A little more," Elle coaxed.

He kept going.

"Stop! Left." Gabriel moved the tree to the left.

"Too far! You're moving the tree too far, Gabriel. Go back to the right."

Gabriel huffed and moved the tree inch-by-inch to the right.

"There. Perfect," Elle smiled. The tree was in exactly the same spot that Gabriel had first put it in.

"That's-" he began, but was silenced by Elle's lips. He let his hands get tangled in her hair, while hers roamed his chest.

The two were interrupted by the arrival of their children.

"Hi Dad," Noah said, rushing to him. "Hey champ," he said, picking him up.

"Hi Momma," Ava said. She moved to pick her daughter up. "Hi princess."

Peter followed behind them, carrying many different bags. He set them on the floor and plopped on the Grey's couch. "I need a nap," he mumbled.

Ava turned to Noah, concerned etched across her tiny features. "Unca Peter," she said, toddling to her uncle. "We have to wap presents. Momma and Daddy can't see presents."

"Right," Peter said. "We'll be upstairs." He grabbed Ava's hand and a couple of the bags.

"Noah," Elle said. "Why don't you show us how strong you are and help Uncle Peter?"

"Okay," Noah said excitedly. He lifted the lightest bag and dragged it up the stairs behind his uncle and sister.

Later, when presents had been wrapped and rooms had been cleaned, the adult Greys sat on the couch to watch their children open pre-Christmas presents.

Every year, each child would be given one "Mommy and Daddy present" to open on Christmas Eve. They would go to bed happy and excited for the next day.

"On the count of three," Elle said. Noah and Ava looked eagerly at her. "One, two, three."

The children tore into their gifts and squealed in delight. Noah opened a new action figure and Ava opened a new outfit for her doll.

Gabriel looked over Elle appreciatively.

"Do I get an early Christmas present?" He asked in a whisper.

Elle smiled devilishly. "I think you've been a good boy this year," She whispered back.

"Bedtime!"


	5. Chapter 5

Noah hated when his parents fought.

As a seven-year-old, he knew enough to get away from them when they were arguing, which was pretty often. Since Noah was his father's son, wanting to know anything and everything he could, he hid on the stairs (if they were downstairs) or just outside their door (upstairs) and eavesdropped on the fight.

Most of their fights revolved around money, him and his sister, or their pasts. Sometimes it was a combination of all three.

Noah didn't know what had happened in their pasts, neither of his parents would tell him, but he was able to gather that his dad had been a bad man. He had stolen things from people. He might have even hurt some of them. A lot of those hurt people wanted to hurt his father back. Which was the real reason why they always had to move, not Mommy's job.

When Noah's parents fought about him and Ava, he especially didn't like it. Sometimes, his dad would leave and not come back until much later, usually when Noah was supposed to be sleeping. Noah would watch as his father made his way to Elle, Noah's mother. From there, she would either hit him with her secret sparkles or he would cry. Noah didn't like when his Daddy cried.

The money fights weren't really that bad. His mom liked to spend money on pretty things; his dad didn't like to spend money at all. Dad got mad at her for spending too much money and she got mad that he wouldn't spend any. She said that her dad had left them enough money, and they didn't need to worry. They always stopped fighting when Gabriel saw how happy the pretty things made Noah's mommy.

The fights about everything… those were the worst. If his parents were downstairs, Noah could be in the attic and still hear them. He didn't really want to hear those fights, but he had no choice. They would yell, back-and-forth and back-and-forth, for a really long time. There were always secret sparkles in these fights. Once in a while, if mommy was really, really mad, she would spark Noah's father until he was a pile of dirt on the floor. When he was little, Noah used to run out to his Dad's dirt and cry over it, scared for his hero. His mommy would pick him up and tell him all about how daddy could never get sick or get hurt, which would help heal Noah's hurt feelings.

Right now, the seven-year-old sat on the stairs, an action figure in hand. He flew the figure around, making quiet swooshing noises as he went. His parents were arguing again. This time, he couldn't tell what it was about, but it wasn't fun to hear. Noah was jealous that Ava got to spend the day with her friends and away from his house.

Elle wanted to give "the cheerleader" some money so she could go home. Noah didn't know who the cheerleader was, but he'd heard the name before. Gabriel didn't want to give her that much money. He said they should pay off their credit card. Noah was very familiar with the credit card, because it was his Mom's favorite tool.

"Gabriel, please? We owe her." Noah's mother asked her husband. She must really want this, Noah decided. His mother almost never sounded like that.

Noah got worried when his dad didn't say anything. Finally, he spoke quietly, "Maybe we feel this way because of how we grew up. My family, if you'd call them that, had nothing, for a really long time. We were so poor, Elle. But then things happened. And we had a house, and real food, and nice clothes. But you, you had everything you could ever ask for, except for friends and love. And then we met each other…"

"And things became good again," Noah's mother smiled.

"And now look at what we have. His eighth Christmas is right around the corner." Noah's father pointed to him sitting on the stairs. Noah gave a little half-wave. His mother beckoned him with a hand.

"We've got it pretty good, don't we?" She smiled.

"Yeah, I think so," Noah said. And, even though they had fights and secrets, with all of his tiny heart, Noah truly believed that they had it better than anyone else in the world.


End file.
